Farnham won 22-21 at home to Worthing in Regional One South Central.

Farnham welcomed Worthing to Monkton Lane for a mid-table clash. Just four points separated the sides before the game and the sun was finally out after weeks of rain.

The hosts kicked off and looked to start the game well. They did exactly that when Ieuan Finey-Jones put up a contestable box kick with Shawa Rai competing well, winning the ball and sprinting clear, handing off the cover defence to dot down for the first try after just one minute. The conversion was successful.

Both teams tried to win the territory battle early on. A well-executed line out move saw Farnham create some space out wide and Toby Simmons was stopped short ten metres out. Finey-Jones spotted space down the blindside but the Worthing defence scrambled well and bundled him into touch.

The visitors got on the scoreboard when their number 13 dotted down for a converted try.

Farnham responded well and good hands from George Bellamy, Sam Voight and Alex Young released Eddie Buckton down the wing, but his pass to Finey-Jones was slightly forward.

The hosts stayed camped in the 22 and got themselves metres away but just couldn’t find the space needed to score and Worthing cleared their lines.

Farnham had to handle some pressure late on in the half but managed to hold out and the score was level at half-time at 7-7.

The hosts brought on Jack Buxton and Marco Azevedo with the game finely in the balance.

Oscar Henderson regathered a box kick to get Farnham in behind and built up their attack. They slowly broke down the Worthing defence and Jonny Vincent broke through two tackles and ran under the posts for Farnham’s second try. The conversion was successful.

A penalty gave Worthing a chance to kick to the corner and although Farnham won the line out, a handling error fell into the hands of the scrum half who beat two defenders and dived over for a try to make it 14-14 with 20 minutes to go.

Farnham found themselves with good field position and the scrum started to dominate. Consecutive penalties put Worthing under pressure and Farnham had an attacking scrum five metres out. This time the scrum held firm but the ball was moved wide through Ben Jones and Ben Stevens with Toby Salmon finishing out wide for the third try. The conversion was missed.

Worthing responded and their full-back found a gap in the Farnham defence and sprinted in under the posts to put the visitors 21-19 ahead with ten minutes to go.

The game became scrappy with Farnham chasing the game but a turnover allowed Joey Wood to kick clear and Stevens chased down his opposite man and pinned Worthing back. Although they released the immediate pressure, minutes later, Worthing loosely tried to run it out but Henderson did well at the breakdown and won Farnham a penalty. Salmon stepped up and slotted the kick from 35 metres to regain the lead with one minute to go.

There was still time for a Farnham error which gave Worthing one last chance, but the defence stopped them and a turnover allowed Farnham to kick the ball out.

Farnham will host third-placed Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, February 28.

By Toby Salmon